The Husker Vacation is Over!

Huskers Get a Bye at the Perfect Time

If you would have told Husker Nation that the hometown Huskers would be 5-0 in the middle of October, with a chance to go on the road to Bloomington, Indiana to improve to 6-0 last July, I think most would have been pretty pleased with that.

The flip side of the conversation is, you will have multiple injuries to indispensable players, and have to take on the bulk of the Big Ten schedule wondering week to week who would be available.  Since we don’t have a crystal ball to determine the rest of the season for Nebraska, it seems as though every game from now on could be a guessing game about how the team will react.

Since we last blogged, Nebraska took on an Illinois team that many people probably thought the Huskers would walk over.  Unfortunately for Nebraska, the Illini gave the Huskers all they wanted for 3 quarters.  Nebraska did what they continue to do though and pulled away in the fourth.   Many of us would like to see Nebraska not need to pull away, but it’s nice to know that they can.

Illinois had a bye the week before they played Nebraska.  Make no mistake about it, head coach Lovie Smith used that time to prepare for the Huskers and did an admirable job in making sure Nebraska couldn’t run the ball the first three quarters.  Tommy Armstrong banged up his ankle midway through the first half.  When he wasn’t available for bootlegs and play action plays where he had the threat of a draw, Nebraska’s offense ground to a bit of a halt.  

The Huskers also didn’t do themselves any favors with a missed field goal, a few missed assignments on defense and a few dropped passes.

The biggest thing looking back at the tape was that the offensive line was filled with backup players, many playing big minutes for the first time this season.  Senior Corey Whitaker and Redshirt Sophomore Cole Conrad played large amounts of time in a game that Tanner Farmer sat out and David Knevel was unable to keep going.  Against the Illinois defensive line with multiple possible NFL draft picks, it took about 3 quarters for the line to gel and put the Illini on their heels.  

Terrell Newby finally busted a long run in the fourth quarter.  In my opinion that play was as much to do with the line playing better as it was for Illinois having busted coverage.  You just don’t get high quality blocking out the gate most of the time with offensive lineman playing in their first game, and it showed during some of the Illinois game.  It is a huge credit to line coach Mike Cavanaugh and the players, they made it work.

Nebraska really took the game over with a drive that started in the 3rd quarter and lasted for what felt like an eternity, going into a large chunk of the fourth quarter.  The drive included fourth down conversions and some stubborn running in the red zone that finally paid off.  Again, Nebraska was able to do that, because Whitaker and Conrad and the rest of the line started to crack the Illinois defensive line.

Where am I going with this?  Well I believe that if Nebraska is going to beat Indiana this weekend, the offensive line is going to have to dominate in the running game.  Both Farmer and Knevel are going to play this weekend, which should provide a spark in the running game.  Before his injury Farmer was starting to play like an all-conference lineman.  If healthy, I expect him to pick up where he left off.   This week’s problems won’t be in the offensive line, as both Whitaker and Conrad are available to play if needed, but the skill position group won’t quite be what we are used to seeing.

Devine Ozigbo, Jordan Westerkamp, and Cethan Carter are all either not traveling this weekend, or doubtful in the case of Ozigbo.  Those are three big weapons the Husker offense could really use in a game that they may need to score over 30 to win.  

Luckily, we saw Terrell Newby play like a seasoned vet against Illinois. We will need to see that again if the Huskers have a chance to win this coming weekend.  Tommy Armstrong will get Alonzo Moore back this week as well.  Alonzo stretches the field unlike any other wide receiver.  Hopefully Moore will offset the loss of Westerkamp and the offense will have the deep option that they didn’t really have against Illinois.

Defensively, Nebraska has survived fairly unscathed so far this season.  Mick Stoltenberg is probably the biggest beneficiary of the bye week, as he has yet to unleash the quickness that he displayed before re-injuring his knee in preseason camp.   Nebraska will continue with their bend but don’t break against the Hoosiers, but they will need to force a couple of turnovers in this game, to make up for the losses on offense.  The Huskers defense has held everyone not named Oregon under 17 points this season.  If they can come close to duplicating that effort against Indiana, the results of this game should continue to be the same as they have been up to this point in the season.

Cornhusker Memes Tees!

ON WITH THE REWIND…

Our previous score prediction for Illinois was Nebraska 38, Illinois 14.  While the game ended up 31-16, it was much closer than many of us imagined.  I don’t think any of us could foresee all the injuries that happened in that game.  Give Illinois a lot of credit, they came into Memorial Stadium prepared and banged with the Huskers pretty good.

Quick Notes:

Terrell Newby was the man in the second half against Illinois.  Newby had touchdown runs of 3 yards to help break the game open and slammed it shut with a 63 yard run at the end of the fourth quarter.  The senior running back continues to run harder and play better each game.  It’s kind of nice to have a veteran in the backfield with Armstrong that continues to improve.

Secondary has a rough week.  For the first time this season, the Huskers secondary looked a little slow against the Illini.  While they looked to be trailing a lot more in coverage, they didn’t give up a big day, statistically.  Problem is, this wide receiver group wasn’t particularly strong and Indiana may give them more issues this week.

Tommy Armstrong needs his legs.  One thing is for certain, Illinois sold out for the run against Nebraska and it worked for three quarters.  Offensive Coordinator Danny Langsdorf took the running out of Tommy’s arsenal since he was banged up. This caused the line of scrimmage to be jammed up, sometimes with eight or nine defenders in the box.  When Tommy can bootleg away on the edge, it seems to relieve that congestion in the middle.  Nebraska will only be able to play like a top ten team if Tommy is healthy.  Let’s hope week off gave him the rest he needed.   

Guess who is in the top Ten!  Nebraska has cracked the top ten in both polls for the first time since 2011.  While it doesn’t seem like a big deal to some old timers, for a program trying to drag itself back to the top in recruiting, this ranking is a great thing to show high school kids.  It lets players know that the Huskers are on the way back.  A win this weekend and Nebraska will really have the hammer when they go out to talk to recruits.

Time for some young players to step up.  We are at the point in the season that some of the freshman and redshirt freshman and sophomores start to step up and make plays.  Some of those candidates, like Stanley Morgan and Aaron Williams have already done it.  Now it’s time for players like Mick Stoltenberg, Tanner Farmer, Alex Davis, Bryan Reimers and Antonio Reed to start playing like they are veterans instead of first time players.

Carriker Chronicles on Husker Maxx!

Score Prediction: Nebraska 27 – Indiana 24

I hate to think this game will be close, because on paper, Nebraska should roll, but games aren’t played on paper, they played on grass and we know that Nebraska shouldn’t roll that.  (Sorry, couldn’t resist!)  Nebraska comes out of its bye week, and they should be very prepared.  Indiana has come off of a big upset over what is now a suspect Michigan State team and having played Ohio State close for 3 quarters.  For some reason I think they will play Nebraska tough this week and then fall back to the pack after that.  That has been the pattern so far, as teams seem to give great effort against the Huskers and regress afterward.  Nothing would make me happier than to see that regression start this week, but its homecoming and the Hoosiers smell blood.  Too bad they won’t get the W.  GBR!!